ENVIRONMENTAL ALLIANCE FOR SENIOR INVOLVEMENT

The Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI) was founded in 1991 through a partnership with The American Association of Retired People (AARP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Its mission is to build, promote, and utilize the environmental ethic, expertise, and commitment of older persons to expand citizen involvement in protecting and caring for the environment for present and future generations. Through establishment of its EASI Senior Environment Corps (SECs) across the country, in partnership with such groups as AmeriCorps, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, Senior Centers, Offices of Aging, environmental organizations, local government agencies, academic institutions, and religious organizations, EASI enables and encourages senior volunteers — working intergenerationally — to enhance their communities environmentally.

One of EASI’s greatest successes is the statewide Pennsylvania Senior Environment Corps (PaSEC), achieved in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. Started in December 1997 in 10 sites across the state, senior volunteers, mentoring local youth in the process, monitor the water quality of local streams and rivers. Strict EPA and state requirements are met for quality assurance in monitoring protocols, data collection, training, and equipment. Homebound seniors often enter the results into a database developed by EASI to meet all state standards. This project represents the first statewide Internet database for collecting and maintaining volunteer water quality monitoring data and was the 1999 Renew America award winner in the Community Participation Category and a 1999 United Nations Environmental Programme Global 500 Laureate.

The PaSEC has recruited and trained more than 500 volunteers monitoring 1000 sites each month. This project is such a success that its impetus has spread to other states. Senior Environment Corps across the nation are involved in many different environmental efforts, including pollution prevention and recycling, stream buffer strips, indoor air quality, wellhead protection, abandoned mine reclamation, brownfields, community gardening, and many others. England and Scotland have replicated the EASI model as well, and other countries indicate a desire to follow suit. Several states, including Virginia and California, will soon be replicating the EASI program.

More than 20,000 senior volunteers across America are involved in environmental projects that total more than 40,000,000 hours of volunteer service to help improve the environment for current and future generations. The seniors bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to all types of environmental projects. They enjoy working intergenerationally, which sets in place learning models for the entire community. EASI acts as a catalyst, bringing environmental projects together with a community host site for the volunteers, and providing training and materials to successfully implement the project.

Most seniors have a strong desire to give back to their community, and are eager to leave a positive legacy to their children and grandchildren. The environment is a natural place to start, and EASI has a successful model easily replicated within communities, from state to state, or internationally.

THE FRANKLIN MCKINLEY DENTAL CLINIC

The Franklin McKinley Dental Clinic provides free dental care to children on a weekly basis, Monday through Friday, as long as volunteer dentists are available. It is a part of the School Health Centers – a program of The Health Trust.

The children served at the Franklin McKinley Dental Clinic are typically aged 5-12 and have extensive decay due to the inability to obtain dental insurance or dental care. They belong to “working poor” families who make more money than would allow them to qualify for welfare, but not enough to provide dental insurance or to afford dental care. They are the targets of this program, and they are being reached.

The volunteers at the dental clinic are encouraged to work slowly with the children, realizing that their visit is often their first experience with a dentist and, hence, an occasion that will mold their perceptions of dentistry and dentists. All of the volunteers conduct the initial exam, cleaning their teeth, educating them about care for their teeth, and follow-up with examinations that are deemed necessary by the dentist.

In October of 1996, the Franklin McKinley Dental Clinic opened its doors with two volunteers, Dr. William Comport, DDS, and his assistant, Diane Boseman, RDA, seeing children twice a week. Maria Campero, RDA, was since hired to staff the clinic full-time, schedule the volunteers, work chair side, hold the hands of anxious children, and serve as an interpreter when necessary.

Janet Muehl coordinates the Sealant Program, the mobile dental program that reaches second, third, and sixth graders by moving from school to school with 73 volunteer dentists, hygienists, and assistants applying sealant and making referrals to the clinic. This is not a mobile van, however, it is a “pack ‘em up and move ‘em” operation.

The Dental Clinic was the recipient of The Dental Initiative Grant, which pays for dental screenings and dental sealant application at school sites. This collaboration between Dr. William Comport, Franklin McKinley School District, The Health Trust, and a team of 99 volunteers from the Santa Clara County Dental Society is bringing immediate benefits to these children and their families by giving quality dental care. Individually and collectively, these volunteers are serving to boost levels of self-confidence by reaching deep into the futures of the children, contributing toward a healthy start for underserved youth.

EMMA HARRIS

Emma Harris is an inspiring example of how one person can dramatically impact their community through volunteer service. For the past nine years, she has been actively engaged in fostering positive youth development and community development in the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Reservation. Turning a personal tragedy into an opportunity to forge a healthier community, Harris has helped mobilize local youth and adults to create important change.

Emma Harris lives in Lame Deer, Montana, located in the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Reservation. The Northern Cheyenne Nation, with a population of about 6,200, has faced severe obstacles to positive development – the near loss of an identity as a people has had a major detrimental impact on the community. Challenges are amplified by the geographic, social, and economic isolation faced by the reservation. The reservation encompasses 445,000 acres and the nearest major city is 110 miles away. Most families cannot afford transportation and many residents do not have access to a telephone.

For nine years, Harris has striven to make the reservation a “place where young people see opportunity instead of isolation and despair.” After her daughter died from an alcohol-related accident, Harris organized a community dance to provide youth with a social outlet and educate the public about the dangers of alcohol abuse. Nearly 200 people attended and funds raised from the event allowed two more dances to be held. Through this effort, Harris became involved in a movement to start a youth recreation center in Lame Deer. She led volunteers in cleaning and re-painting a local building and launching a community center dedicated to serving reservation youth.

In its first year of operation, the youth center was staffed and maintained by volunteers. Harris operated a concession stand at a local casino and working with other organizations to obtain money to purchase equipment and hire full-time staff. In 1993, the Youth Center was incorporated as a Boys & Girls Club, and Harris is now employed there as a program coordinator.

Through her additional work with the local Cooperative Extension Office, Harris helped her community become involved with National 4-H Council’s “Bridging the Gap of Isolation” project, designed to foster sustainable community development and create resources for positive youth development in rural and isolated areas. As a volunteer with the BTG project, Harris organized a local youth/adult team that works with the community to identify local assets and resources, and develop a plan to make the community vision a reality. She spearheaded the collection of demographic data on one of the poorest neighborhoods on the reservation. The data was used by the Tribal Council to plan community services and events, including a holiday gathering and dinner that provided residents with a free meal and gifts for children. Harris and her team now serve as resources for others interested in data collection and working in youth/adult partnerships.

Harris is now working to put in place elements of her community’s vision focused on community safety, housing, and recreation. Emma Harris is a fun-loving person who works tirelessly for her community and local youth.

JOYCE PRICE

Joyce Price founded the Student Referral Alternative Center in 1993, the first program of its kind in Louisiana, to offer suspended or expelled students of Caddo Parish a safe, supervised, educational environment. Students in Louisiana and in Caddo Parish were sent home on suspension before the inception of this program. The Student Referral Alternative Center provides a safe, supervised, academic environment for suspended students. Truancy, teen pregnancy, and juvenile crime during school hours have been reduced as a result of the services provided through this program.

Price made contacts, networked with other organizations, and worked with the Department of Education, local school board staff, and community leaders to rally support for the implementation of this new concept. In 1993, she worked with Church Based Tutoring Staff to design the much-needed program. In 1995, she submitted a proposal to the Department of Education to make the Center an approved Alternative School. The proposal was subsequently approved, and has been re-approved each year since 1995.

The Student Referral Center now has an extensive ACTV lab, an interactive system that reinforces Reading and Math skills and adapts to the student’s individual learning style. The staff receives frequent visits and calls from other parishes, cities, and states to view the program. Although Price has achieved the desired results, she feels that there is more than can be done. Thus, she meets frequently with lawmakers, parents, school board members and other to continue to dialogue concerning changes to provide quality services for at-risk students.

Price designed a mentoring component, Touch of Prevention, program in 1997. The program operated successfully for one year, however, due to lack of funding was unable to continue. She still, however, continues to mentor at J.S. Clark Middle School and encourages the community to do the same. On evenings and weekends, she conducts workshops and speaking engagements for the community. In her ongoing quest to reach at-risk youth, she recently attended a daylong workshop in Dallas, Texas on conflict resolution.

Although Price has faced many obstacles in pursuing the establishment and continued operation of the Center, she approaches her task with care, commitment, concern, and respect and students respond positively to her approach. Through her work at the Center, more than 5,000 students have been impacted.

C.A.R.E. OUTREACH, INC.

When Vinton Countians needs food or clothing during difficult times, or when the floods come and they need shelter, or when they can’t pay their electric bill, or need help with transportation, CARE Outreach is there. CARE United Methodist Outreach, Inc. enlists the help of more than 175 volunteers to meet the needs of residents in Vinton County, a poverty stricken, rural area in Southeastern Ohio.

One of the primary functions of CARE Outreach is operation of its food pantry/clothing bank. Volunteers are used to screen and register clients, repackage food items when necessary, fill food orders, and stock food items. They also sort and hang clothing. Clothing is made available at no cost to families in need. Monthly food distributions provide supplemental food to the elderly and to needy families with children in the Vinton County schools. Additional goods are stocked and made available to families when food orders are being processed.

CARE administers a portion of emergency assistance monies that are allotted for Vinton County, using the funds to help with utilities, rent, and transportation needs. Counseling is also available. CARE has also operated a homeless shelter, and currently provides temporary housing in local motels when feasible to assist the homeless. Community Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and annual social events such as the Harvest Festival, are important parts of meeting the total needs of the Vinton County community.

Another vital ministry of CARE volunteers is the Christmas Gift Giveaway. This very special project supplements a large number of families whose Christmas might otherwise be very meager. The Giveaway has encouraged and uplifted the spirits of many parents during times of great stress when they cannot afford to put food on the table of buy gifts for children at Christmastime.

CARE has several fundraising projects that help provide for the financial support of the agency. One unique event is the pie baking outreach. Volunteers make and bake 250-450 pies during a day and a half pie-baking marathon. All the pies are sold within three days and a portion of them are donated to the food pantry. CARE also holds an annual Christmas tree sale, with trees being made available to those who might not otherwise be able to afford one to light their homes during the holiday season. Again, all labor utilized is through volunteers. Food booths at local county fairs and other celebrations are staffed with volunteers, and profits provide financial support for CARE.

A Director and a Secretary provide CARE leadership. In addition to their paid hours, both staff members provide innumerable hours of volunteer time and support to the agency. CARE has the unique policy of no solicitations of financial support from any local business or resident in any manner or form. All donations to CARE come from the hearts of the community members and volunteers who serve it. All services and material goods are provided free of charge to CARE clients. CARE is beyond question a viable outreach in Vinton County, preserving pride and integrity in those who have suffered the effects of this poverty firsthand.

KENNETH HALVERSON

When Kenneth Halverson volunteers, it is with conviction and commitment. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health Services for 33 years, establishing programs to meet the ever-changing mental health needs. He was instrumental in the establishment of a training center and in the development of community support programs for those with severe mental illnesses.

After volunteering for the Habitat for Humanity project at Eagle Butte in 1994, which resulted in the construction of 30 houses in five days, Halverson established a Habitat for Humanity chapter in Yankton. One of the primary needs in Yankton is adequate housing for low-income families. In the short duration of this program, seven homes and a duplex have been built with the guidance of the organization, the sweat equity of the families and the generous sharing of time, energy, and resources of many volunteers. The crew works every Wednesday and Saturday on the homes; however, many additional hours of labor are given by Halverson and the crew leaders to be organized for the next workday.

Halverson has been involved with all aspects of each of the housing projects – from fundraising to working with the family members to laying the foundation to painting the walls. Halverson recruits and welcomes volunteers – skilled or unskilled. He finds a job for young and old volunteers and teaches them necessary skills. He has recruited groups of corporate volunteers, youth confirmation classes, and families seeking ways to serve others.

United Methodist Church is the spiritual home for Halverson, where he is a member of the choir and has served on a variety of committees and boards. He and his wife Mary Alice have helped with Meals on Wheels and other volunteer projects. He was one of five individuals honored as South Dakota’s Volunteers of the Year in 1999. A retired surgeon, Kenneth Halverson said that volunteering “helps me sleep, because I’ve been doing something to help others.”

HELEN GLADWIN

Helen Gladwin began volunteering at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center in 1951 under the sponsorship of the American Red Cross with a neighbor who had lost a son at Pearl Harbor. Her neighbor stopped her service as a volunteer a year later, but Gladwin found her vocation. Forty-eight years later and at 97 years old, Gladwin has volunteered a remarkable 89,513 hours. Gladwin lives in Clifton Springs, New York, and although she doesn’t drive she managed to volunteer at this facility four days a week, 9 hours a day until last year when she suffered an injury. Employees at this facility routinely transport Gladwin to and from the VA Medical Center.

Presently, Gladwin’s volunteer assignment is as a companion therapist to the many men and women who have served our country. Many hospitalized veterans lack the companionship from friends and relatives within the community. Gladwin fills that void and despite her fixed income, at her own expense, she mails hundreds of birthday and holiday greetings to veterans, personalizing each with her poetry. Gladwin takes the place of “family” for many of the veterans housed at the VA Medical Center or in community residential care homes that find themselves alone and feeling alienated.

Until an injury caused her to modify her activities and reduce her volunteer hours to two days per week, 8 hours per day, Gladwin’s dedication and sincere commitment to patients’ needs was apparent through her daily routine. She often escorted wheelchair dependent patients through the courtyard, to the library, to the hospital store and assisting in escorting patients to local restaurants. Gladwin currently ambulates with the assistance of a walker, but her hospitalization has not lessened what she sees as her obligation. On many occasions, she can be found providing gratifying conversation and feeding patients who tend to thrive on knowing her next visit will be soon. Her energy, quick wit and sense of humor are qualities that are cherished by all.

In February 1996, one of the buildings at the VAMC was re-named in her honor. Since the Medical Center is a federal facility, it literally took an act of Congress to see it through. Several pictures of Gladwin hang in the day room of Gladwin Hall where patients and staff are reminded of her commitment to the veterans who have given so much to make this country great. Although her frailness at the age of 97 is becoming more apparent, Gladwin remains an inspiration to volunteers and employees who have had the pleasure of working with her.

Helen Gladwin is a Buffalo native and graduated from Syracuse University in 1927.

LAYTON COMMUNITY ACTION COUNCIL

After five thousand community service hours, the Layton Community Action Council is finding that its streets are a little bit safer and youth are spending more time at school thanks to the efforts of all those involved. Several programs are currently being carried out including Layton’s Youth Court, Hand in Hand Mentoring, Neighborhood Watch, and the Layton Youth Council.

Prompting several awards, such as the “Red Wagon Award” presented by Utah’s Promise, the Action Council’s most impressive work may be its Youth Court. Following Governor Michael O. Leavitt’s signature on the Utah Youth Court Bill, the Youth Court has gained jurisdictional power, enabling them to hold hearing for other youth. With 101 cases adjudicated and 898 hours of community service sentenced, participants of the Youth Court program help minor offenders learn responsibility. Seventeen of the Youth Court’s participants have received the “Presidential Student Service Gold Award” for more than 100 hours of service each. The council trained 65 youth to serve as peer court judges and convened court for a total of 39 sessions.

The Hand in Hand Mentoring program helps Layton’s students to perform better in school, increase self-esteem, and improve their attitude. Brought about by the coordination and training of 45 youth mentors, the program gave a combined time of nearly one thousand community service hours. These youth mentors participated in eight Hand in Hand classes, one of which was in conjunction with the Safe Neighborhood’s “Building Assets in Youth – What Kids Need to Succeed” program.

Layton’s streets are also safer thanks to the Action Council’s efforts with the Neighborhood Watch program. More than 20% of Layton’s households participate in the neighborhood watch program. The program trained its volunteers for special duties such as Mobile Patrols, and how to be aware of potential community risks. Their Neighborhood watch program coordinator also received the “Red Wagon Award” from Utah’s Promise. Thanks to the Layton Community Action Council a total of 28 neighborhoods participate in Layton’s Neighborhood Watch program, and 1,011 new participants enrolled in Neighborhood Watch last year.

The Layton Community Action Council’s latest project is managing the Layton Youth Council. In June of 1999, Layton City Mayor Jerry Stevenson invited the Action Council to manage the youth council in hopes of reviving the program. Last year, it suffered from advisor inactivity and their charter requires the presence of an adult supervisor at all meeting and activities. The Layton Community Action Council has made the Youth Council a motivated and successful organization.

Through ongoing community service, the Layton Community Action Council has been very creative at finding and solving the needs of Layton City youth. Their emphasis on management and organization has been essential in rallying together volunteers in not only a substantial number of service hours, but in working together for the benefit of the community.

REV. JENI PRIGMORE

In the Spring of 1997, Reverend Dr. Jeni Prigmore, an All-Faith minister and co-founder of Universal Brotherhood Movement, Inc., read from the menu of the Atlanta Bread company, as she was eating lunch, that they served only fresh-baked items. Upon inquiry, she was told they discard into the trash bin, all baked items, cookies, rolls, buns, muffins, bagels and many types of bread, sliced and unsliced at closing time each evening.

She contacted the owner of the franchise, Mr. Basil Couvares, to explore a way to make these items available to the needy. He encouraged her with the admonition that the recipients must receive the merchandise through a recognized charitable organization and that a letter from such organization would be appropriate. His rules for handling the pick-up were explicit: she must be at the store just before closing time, bring boxes and bags for the items, quickly transfer them and clear the area without interfering with the routine of the employees store-closing duties. Thus began the Bread for Life Ministry.

The nightly supply was usually sufficient to fill the trunk and back seat of a large sedan. Since it was unwrapped and most agencies she had contacted required the food to be wrapped, Rev. Prigmore contacted a plastic bag company, Multi-Pak USA, Inc. This company approved giving the Bread for Life Ministry sufficient bags of various sizes to serve the program for a period of one year, renewable upon review for subsequent years.

At this point, the enormity of the volume made it apparent one or two persons could not possibly handle the job seven nights a week so Rev. Prigmore began to recruit volunteers. She enlisted the aid and assistance of more than two dozen persons willing to commit one evening per week to collect boxes, pick up the bread items, take them home and individually wrap each item or group of items, then distribute the products to appropriate charities the following morning. Since she has signed up more than enough volunteers for one store, she arranged with several more Atlanta Bread Company locations for the pick-up of their unsold items at closing.

The Bread for Life Ministry has filled a need, both for the Atlanta Bread Company’s surplus and the agency’s requirements. Rev. Prigmore’s enthusiasm and energy, together with her ability to marshal, organize and train volunteers to conceive the plan and match the supply and demand elements has provided the base for a new ministry that is available to anyone who wishes to pursue it. A visitor from Scotland rode with some volunteers to observe how the system worked then took the plan back to initiate the service there. Friends of Rev. Prigmore, from across the country, request information on how to start the service in their areas. The idea continues to spread by word of mouth. Rev. Prigmore retains no ‘ego equity’ in the system, freely offering the details to anyone who wishes to participate.

Rev. Prigmore provided the Atlanta Bread Company a written format so they could enlist the aid of charitable organizations in other cities as their franchise expanded. She even drove to Lexington, Kentucky, at her own expense to recruit and train a team of volunteers for the new BC store opening there. It is estimated that in three years, more than 20 tons of fresh food has been delivered to three dozen charitable organizations to feed thousands.

JOHN STEPHENS

The Maury County Education/Community/Business Partnership was formed in 1997 to bring the community together to focus resources and support efforts to improve academic achievement and career development. John Stephens was a driving force behind its creation and now serves as Chairman of the Partnership.

John Stephens discussed the need for this county-based initiative while serving as chair of the Maury County Manufacturers Bureau. Based on his concern and need for prepared workers, he chaired a subcommittee of the Bureau to focus on developing a partnership between local schools and businesses to better prepare students for gainful careers and lives. This work resulted in the formation of a cooperative education program and teacher professional development within the local school systems.

In 1997, Stephens became President of the Maury County Chamber of Commerce and championed the community need to comprehensively prepare students for careers, while building a work force to support ongoing economic and county development efforts. During this tenure he organized an effort between the local Director of Schools and Community College President and engaged the community in a full discussion of the need for structure and processes to implement changes to local education. His leadership resulted in the formation of the Maury County Education/Community/Business Partnership. Stephens subsequently sold his business, Columbia Pipe, in 1998 and assumed the Chairmanship of the Partnership.

Stephens has organized and supported the work of Partnership teams and regularly attended all meetings in order to facilitate the successful organization of this vast community movement. During this year, the Partnership created mechanisms for more than 100 employees to become involved in schools and learning, a provided career exploration activities for more 1,150 eighth and ninth graders and work-based learning activities for 150 high school students during 1998. Three curriculum re-design projects in manufacturing, business, and other subject areas were started during this time. Under Stephens’ leadership, the Partnership has also initiated a comprehensive career development plan in all Maury County Schools. The organization instituted a yearly survey collection of school to work data, provided printing resources guides to 900 teachers in Maury County and directories to civic clubs announcing opportunities for service in each school.

Broad-based volunteer efforts have been critical to the work and success of each team and project. Stephens motivates the involvement in and leadership of the Partnership’s activities, and is instrumental in developing the Partnership into an organization that includes vast segments of the community. As a result of his concerted efforts, the Maury County Education/Community/Business Partnership has encouraged dialogue resulting in the collaboration of diverse groups within Maury County to collectively prepare students to be lifelong learners and responsible citizens.